Curve-rail for railroad-tracks



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T.' L. JOHNSON.

GURVE RAIL FOR RAILROAD TRACKS. Noi 348,017. Patented Aug. 24, 1886.

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(No Model.)

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CURVE RAIL FOR RAILROAD TRACKS.

Patented Aug. 24, 1886.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. T. L. JOHNSON.

CURVE RAIL FOR RAILROAD TRACKS.

No. 348,017. Patented Aug. 24, 1886.

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ATENT CURVE-RAIL FOR RAILROAD-TRACKS.

BPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent No. 348,017, dated August24, 1886.

Application filed January 26,1855. Serial No. 154.018. (No mod-eh;

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I,.ToM L. JOHNSON, of Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Curvc- Rails for Railroad Tracks, which improvement or invention isfully set forth and illustrated in the following specification andaccompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide a built-up curve-rail havingits guard secured thereto by belts or rivets, said guard being capableof removal when worn out, the rail proper being made of the same form ofrail used in the straight parts of the track.

The invention consists of the parts as set forth in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows an end view, in outline, ofa sidebearing girder-rail having a snperelevated guard or guard-piecebolted thereto. Fig. 2 shows in end view said guard-piece detached. Fig.3 shows in end view a side-bearing girder-rail with the end of its tramcut on" and a superelevated guard-piece of cast-iron bolted to the webof the rail. 4 Fig. 4 shows in end elevation a side-bcaring girder-railhaving its tram cut off, and a snperelevated guard-piece of wroughtmetal bolted to the web of the rail. Fig. 5 shows in end view acenter-bearing girder-rail having a guard-piece bolted to the web of therail. Fig. 6 shows in end view a side-bearing girder-rail having asnperelevated guard-piece riveted or bolted to the web of the railthrough chocks interposed at suitable intervals.

In said figures the letter A indicates the head proper of the respectiverails shown A, the tram of said rails; B, the snperelevated guard-piecein the varied shapes shown, and O the bolts or rivets. D indicates oneof a series of checks, Fig. 6, interposed between the guard B and theweb of the rail c The feet or lower flanges of the rails are indicatedby the letter a The guard part proper or snperelevated part of theguard-piece is indicated by the letter 1), its inclined part or offsetunder the tram of the rail by the letter If, and its vertical or angleweb by the letter I). Said web, by breaking joints with the rails, willthus perform the office of a splice-bar.

In Fig. 3 the guard-piece B, being a casting, is considerably lightenedbetween thebolts or rivetsC, as shown in dotted lines at Z),- or saidcasting may be regarded as of regular shape, where cored out at I)", andas thickened out or braced at regular intervals, as at D The sidebearing-rail shown in Figs. 3 and 4 has its tram cut off, as shown at ain dotted lines, Fig. 3. This is done in order that the guard mayapproach the head of the rail close enough to make the intervening spaceofproper width for the travel of the flange of the earwheel whenrounding the curve, and still retain the tread of the wheel upon thehead of the rail. In Figs. 1 and 6 this is accomplished by causing thehead I) of the guard-piece to project over and rest upon the end of thetram of the rail, as shown at If in said figures. In Fig. 5 the width ofthe tram being less with the center bearing-rail than with the sidebearingrail shown in the other figures, no special provision for thewidth of curve-space between head of rail and head of guard isnecessary. It will be noted that the snperelevated part of the guard Z)is, in all of the figures, thickended considerably more than its stem orweb I) and inclined offset I). Said part b has to sustain a considerableamount of wear, some times very excessive, whereas the rest of the guardis not subjected to wear. It is therefore proportioned solely withregard to necessary strength. As these guard-rails are seldom usedexcept on curves, it can readily be seen that,taking the wholecurveshape of rail and guard together as an entirety,such struct nrewill embody great stiffness and stability.

The advantages of this curve-rail will now be set forth more in detail.It is found in track construction that any cause which in-' terfereswith continuous track-laying is not only costly in itself, but involvesadditional cost, due to mere delay. In all cases where special parts arepreviously prepared at the factory, to be fitted afterward to the trackduring its construction, as at present custom ary in curve work, therehas been found difficulty in making the connections perfect and muchtrouble in making them fit, owing to some small error or errors ofcalculation in shaping the corresponding parts; but with a built-upcurve structure such as herein described and illustrated the work oftrack-laying can go on continuously without the interruptions incidentalto such errors. The rails may be laid and jointed continuously both onaddition of the guard piece or pieces B can then be made. Said piecescan be furnished with the necessary holes ready punched or drilled inthem, and in attaching said pieces it only remains to drill the webs ofthe rails proper and attach the guard piece or pieces to the rails bysuitable bolts, as shown in the drawings. The joints between the railsand guards should be broken, in the usual manner, where splices aremade. \Vhen it is necessary to shorten the tram of the rail, as shown inFigs. 3 and 4, this can be done feasibly and quickly, during theconstruction of the road, by means of an ordinary blacksmiths coldchiseland a sledge-hammer. There is no machine fit or mathematical nicetyrequired in the operation. There are cases of emergency sometimesarising when a curve-track of such construction would, by reason of thespeed with which it could be laid, and its solidity and durability whenlaid, be an acquisition of great importance. \Vhere time is an object ofmuch importance, it will be found of advantage to use the constructionshown in Fig. 6. In the constructions shown in the other figures theguard 13 has a large amount of stiffness both verticallyandhorizontally. If 5 curving to a small radius, it will be foundadvantageous to curve the guard B to the same radius as that of the railbefore connecting them. The shape of guard B, (shown in Fig. 6,) whileflexible horizontally, is of ample stifiness vertically, and can bequickly bolted to any curve whatever without previous bending, its ownflexibility permitting of accurate adjustment to the rail when the boltstake hold.

The construction of curve-rail herein described and illustrated ofi'ersthe further advantage in those cases where, thewear being excessive, theguard is rapidly destroyed, that the guard can be quickly replaced, whenworn out,without moving the rest of the track.

'Having thus fully described my said im provement as of my invention, Iclaim- A girder eurve-rail for the curves of railroad-tracks, consistingof a curved girder-rail provided with a side flange 0r tram, as A, andwith an independent superelevated an gle-guard abutted to said tram andsecured by rivets or bolts to the web of the rail below said tram,whereby the whole line of track may be made of the same form of railwith removable and renewable guards at the curves, substantially as andfor the purposes setfortln TOM L. JOHNSON.

Vitnesses: I

L. A. RUssELL, \VM. L. RICE.

